When I got my first taste of anime through Pokemon, I instantly fell in love with this unique form of art. Soon after, Dragon Ball Z and Naruto entered my life, and my craving for anime began. Another otaku was born. Flash forward few years and I run into MAL. I was completely overwhelmed by the sheer number of anime out there. And the substantial amount of topics that anime were based on, ranging from supernatural wonders such as mecha, comedy, angels, devils, demons, ghosts to down-to-earth scenarios involving school, love, marriage, lust, law, psychology and sports. Almost every anime brought something new to the table. Just when the shounens were getting stale, a beautiful slice of life would pop out of nowhere and wow me with its simplistic charm. Every anime brought to life the thoughts and ideas of its creators and let the viewer sit back and enjoy a concept, more than an animated show.But when it comes to Black Rock Shooter, I don’t get it. I just don’t understand what the anime was trying to achieve. Is it a slice of life high school anime with some random parallel universe duels thrown in? Or is it the reverse, a parallel universe duel with some random slice of life high school moments thrown in? If I knew the answers to that, then my opinion of this 50 minute OVA might have been different. But sadly, me, and thousands of other disappointed fans out there, don’t.~This is purely a review of the anime OVA and does not cover the hype and marketing strategies of Ordet~Black★Rock Shooter is about the friendship of two girls (I think). Mato, on her first day of high school, meets Yomi, another fresher. Soon, they become good friends and what follows is a tale of loyalty and trust. Meanwhile, in a parallel universe, two women scantily clad in gothic clothing, battle it out, one wielding a massive sword and the other holstering a gigantic gun.The confusion of BRS starts right from the title. What is that ★ doing there? Does that mean we need to call it BlackStarRock Shooter? Or is it just a form of Japanese numerology, like adding exclamation marks wherever the creator feels like it? Alright, fine, it’s just a name, so I’ll leave it at that. Unfortunately, the anime doesn’t. It just piles on too much content. And that is exactly where BRS falls apart – there is too much too much potential for just fifty minutes. <o:p></o:p>If you just stop and think about it, the concept of BRS is pretty damn good. Two girls entwined in a bittersweet tale of friendship, while their otherworldly alter-egos beat the living hell out of each other in another dimension. Sounds interesting, right? Sure, there are some clichéd moments and the characters are nothing out of the ordinary, but it is very entertaining. It’s gripping and keeps your attention the entire time. Right from the first minute, your eyes are glued to the screen. While you’re following the innocent lives of the two girls, the anime suddenly throws in with the duel between the two female warriors. The action is excellent and the fight sequences are terrific. Put them both together and you have a highly absorbing watch. However, such a complex and engaging storyline is too large to squeeze into a feature that lasts less than an hour. <o:p></o:p>The animation is the main reason I’m giving this anime a pretty decent score. It’s awesome. The school setting is drawn perfectly, with no moe or loli anywhere and this is pretty neat, considering a show about two girls always features at least one of those. The dark, gloomy planet is drawn perfectly and exudes a morose atmosphere thanks to the picture-perfect shade selections and varied camera angles. The azure copper sulphate blue eye fire of one of the duelists was slick.The soundtrack was simple and efficient. Not much to say here.Overall, BRS is an anime that has remarkable presentation and an exciting story, but it is snowed under the countless mistakes that this anime makes. [ THE WRAP-UP ]Black Rock Shooter is another anime that joins the list of could-have, may-have and might-have’s. With an extraordinarily short length for an anime series (50 minutes) and lack of a sequel, one cannot but doubt the reason for its creation. Complex and intriguing as the story maybe, random events, clichéd characters, predictable plot and an astonishingly abrupt ending play spoil sport to this technically sound anime. Still, it is entertaining while it lasts and at the end of the day, you get a taste of both slice of life and action, which is pretty impressive. Dive in expecting something awesome and you’re bound to be drenched in disappointment. It’s good, but that’s about high as it gets. A square 7 couldn’t be any more befitting than for Black Rock Shooter.  Rating:7/10
Read the rest of this entry Entry meta